I found out about this internship opportunity in a few different ways. I heard about the opportunity originally while using the lab at Light Work the summer before, but I heard about it again while talking to Nate Larson about internships during the spring semester. After I was reminded about the internship I filled out the online application, and wrote an essay along with attaching my resume. Light Work is a non profit that was created by to be artist run, in 1973. Light work has residencies, publications, exhibitions, a community access lab, and many other projects to help artists working in photography and digital imaging. Light Work is located in Syracuse,NY, on the Syracuse University campus. Light Work also works with the local Everson Museum to complete the Urban Video Project, where artists films are projected onto the side of the museum.
My direct supervisor was John Manion, his role within the organization is master printer. John works with all of the artists in residence and helps them master their digital files as well as print for many artists. John also prepares all of the images to be sent to the press for the publication Contact Sheet that is created by Light Work. My responsibilities usually involved printing, scanning, editing images, and helping out around the lab wherever needed. I was involved in projects for the resident artists, as well as helping with work for the artists that work with the lab. I also worked on the For Freedoms project in form of publication and exhibition. I am most proud of being able to show all of the new stuff that I learned and that I am able to say that I am in contact with some artists that I looked at online and learned about in my classes. It was a very surreal experience to be surrounded by the artists that I was. I am also proud that I have learned a whole new part of myself and loving the photo lab environment as much as I do.
My biggest take away was learning to put myself out there and to be more confident in my skills both behind the camera but also with the technical side and what happens after you take the image. New skills that I have learned from this internship include networking, taking about my work in a cohesive manner, I have learned more than I ever imagined about printing and about color correction and what can be done in photoshop. I have also learned a lot editing photos in general, My technical skills are beyond the improvement I could’ve hoped for, I was constantly learning while at Light Work. This internship helped to clarify my career goals by opening up a whole new door that I hadn’t been looking into before. I have learned that I love the technical behind the scenes work of art and photography. I have also networked with some big name artists and people in the art and photography world. I am very thankful overall for this internship and what it has helped me learn and the experiences that it has brought into my life.
